Spring-motor.



PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

H. P. FISKE.

SPRING MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED nov. 1. 19oz 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

Ina/agar.- M. if WM No. 740,114. PATENTBD'SEP'T. 29, 190s.

' H. P. PISKE.

SPRING MOTOR.

APIfLIUATION FILED NOV. 1. 1902.

n0. MODEL. 2 SEIiBTS-SHEET 2.

6 WITNESSES. IN VE N 70/? iatented September 29, 1903.

UNITED STATns PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY P. FISKE, OF YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO NEW YORKSPRING MOTOR COMPANY,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

spamsoro R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters retest No.740,1 14, datedSeptember 29, 1903. Application filed November 1,1902. Serial No.129,773. (No model.)

' zen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county ofNeW'Y'ork and State of N ew'York, have invented certainnew and usefulImprovements in Spring-Motors, of which the following is aspecification.

. This invention relates tospring-motors; and its main object is toprovide a motor of this type in which the spring is so constructed as tobe capable of storing within a given space the maximum amount of powerand transmitting the largest possible percentage of such power to adriven member. For the purpose of accomplishing these resultsI make useof a spring consisting of a plurality of helices, each independent inconstruction ofevery other and all so connected as to form a continuousspring adapted to be wound as' a single spring and to store andtransferpower as such and having its elements separably connected insuch a manner as to permit free transverse expansion and contraction ofall the helices. When a plurality of such helices are assembled around acommon center and properly placed with respect to one another, thespring may be wound up un-- til the coils of all of the helices are inbearing engagement and constitute a solid rod or tube, this mode oforganizing the elements of the spring permitting a given space to becompletely filled by such spring when wound up, and hence permitting themaximum amount of metal to be contained in such space and subdividedinto separate concene tric helices, each consisting of a large number.of, individual coilsor turns. In order that the spring alone may fillsuch space completely withoutinterference of the" coils of the separatehelices, I make use of a plurality of helices, the coils of whichalternatefin direction and are rectangular in cross-sebtion, thealternation of the direction of running of the coils serving to permiteach helix torbe guided by another and to have a bear- 'ing on anotherwhen the spring is fully wound up, while vthe cross-section of the coilsen- "Iutherdrawings accompanying this specification and forming part ofthe present application, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of aspring-motor constructed in accordance with my invention and mounted ina suitable casing. i Fig. 2 is a transverse section of one end of themotor and its casing, the section being taken in line 2 2, Fig.1. Fig. 3is a detail illustrating in'end elevation a pair of concentric helicesand the mode of connecting the'same. Figs. 4 and 5 are details of thelink and roll, respectively, which I employ for connecting the separatehelices of the spring. I

Fig. 6 is an end-view of the helices. Fig. 7 is aview, partly insection, on an enlarged scale, showing the manner of connecting theinner helix to the driven member.

The 'spring constituting the main element of my improved spring-motorand constructed'in accordance with my invention consists, essentially,of a plurality of concentric separate helices connected by suitabledevices to form a continuous spring, the ends of which for the purposeof winding the spring. These resistance and driven members may be of anysuitable construction, the former being in the present case a disk 3,secured to a tubular shaft or spindle 4, while the driven member may bea wheel or gear, such as 5, secured to a shaft or spindle, such as 6,mounted in this case within the spindle 4 and also preferably;

key or crank, by means of which the plug and the resistance member maybe turned to wind up thespring.

At the winding end of the spring-motor the driven spindle 6 is also,preferably, plugged, as shown at 11, and the outer end of the plug isreduced to form a journal 11, which works in a bearing in the inner endof the plug 7. At the driven end of the motor the outer spindleterminates at the inner side of the gearwheel 5 and its cheek bearsagainst the gear, the hub of this gear being pinned to the inner spindle6 and to a plug 12, which fills the end of said inner spindle and isreduced at its end to form a journal 12, which works in a bearing 13 ina cap 14 at the opposite end of the casing 15 from the cap 10. These twocaps and 14'are removably secured to the body of the casing, as by meansof setscrews, and the body portion 15 of said casing is formed in thisconstruction in one piece with a post or upright 16. From the gear 5 themovement of the motor may be transmitted to any other suitable drivenmember or mem bers, such as the pinion l7 and its spindle.

In the construction shown five concentric but separatehelices,designated,respectivel y, by 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24, encirclethe spindle 4 and are connected at their ends in such a manner that thefive helices constitute a single continuous spring, one end of which isconnected to the resistance-disk 3, while the other end is connected tothe gear 5. Here the outer helix is connected to the resistance member,by means of which the spring is turned in winding, and the opposite endof the inner helix 24 is connected to the gear 5. At each end thereofeach helix is so shaped as to be readily attached to a connecting memberor link, and for the purpose of connecting the helices easily andpermitting the link to turn freely ateach connecting-point about a pairof axes parallel with the axis of the spring I prefer to form each helixwith end portions, such as 25, bent at approximatelya right angle to theturns of the helix in parallelism with the axis thereof. Each helix inthis construction is formed from wire of the same gage, which isrectangular and preferably square in cross-section, and hence the springwhen its elements are assembled consists, essentially, of five helicesof difierent diameters having substantially the same number of coils orturns in each, which coils are of like cross-section. It will be noticedthat the pairs of helices are connected alternately at opposite ends ofthe spring, the helices 20 and 21 being connected at the left-hand endof the motor, the helices 21 and 22 at the right-hand end, the helices22 and 23 at the left-hand end, and 23 and 24 at the righthand end.

Inconnecting the separate helices of the' spring it is important to makethe connection in such a manner as to permit each helix so connected toexpand and contract transversely relatively to the other to enable thespring to be wound up tightly until all of the helices are in bearingengagement with one another. In order to accomplish this result,connections between the helices are made by extending the ends 25 beyondthe ends of the last coils thereof and pivotally'joining these ends. Asimple short link will be sufficient to accomplish this result in somecases; but when the spring is made in the preferred form-that is, fromwire of square cross-secti0nI find it necessary to provide in additionto a link, such as 30, a pair of rolls, such as 31, havingjournal-surfaces which cooperate with corresponding hearings or openingsin the link 30, so as to be capable of turning freely with respect tothe link. Each of these rolls has a squared opening extendingtherethrough, as shown at 32, of the same cross-section as the squaredend of the corresponding helix, which squared end is passed through theopening in the roll and may be heldin place'by apin 33. When the helicesare connected in this manner, it will be evident that in allpositions'thereof they are free to move or turn in either direction,according as the spring is being contracted by wind- I ing or expandedin doing work. These links also unite allof the helices into a singlecontinuous spring in such a manner that the pull of each helix istransmitted to the connected portion of the adjacent helix evenly andwithout twisting or otherwise distorting the parts. It will be noticedalso that these connections do not interfere in any way with the freewinding'or unwinding of the helices, as in every instance they arelocated outside the end'coils of the helices which they con- .nect, andthe links themselves are preferably short and in no case extend beyondthe outer diameterof the connected coils.

The helices of myimproved spring-motor are wound alternately to theright and' the left, and hence it is impossible for the coils of anyhelix to get between those of the ad- =jacent helix. Moreover, the partsare so proportioned that when the spring is fully wound-that is, whenthere are no spaces between the coils of any helixthere will also be .nospaces between the separate helices,and :hence the inner surfaces of thecoils of each helix, beginning with the'outer one, 20, will bear againstthe outer surfaces of the coils of the next adjacent inner helix. Whenwound to this extent, each helix will have twice as ;many coils or turnsas when in the unwound :condition shown in Fig. 1.

In order to accommodate the transverse expansion and contraction of theinnerand outer coils at the points where they are connected to the gear5 and the resistance-disk 3, slidaing connections between such membersand the ends of said helices are provided. A some' what shallow slot,the inner wall of which'is indicated at 35, is sufiicient for permittingplay of; the end 24 of the coil 24, because the inner helix movesbut ashort distance trans versely to engage the spindle 4 when such helix iswound tightly. The opposite end of the outer coil 20 has a considerablerange of movement, however, and the slot 36 in the disk 3 is quite deepin order to accommodate this movement. Both the end 24: of the helix 24and the end 20' of the helix'2O are suitably guided and pinned toprevent twisting of the ends of the wires during their slidingmovements.

For the purpose of holding the spring under tension after it is woundany suitable means may be employed, that shown herein consisting of aratchet-wheel 40, secured to the disk 3, and a pair of springepressedpawls 41, which in this case are pivoted on the inner side of the cap orend wall of the casing.

From the foregoing description of my improved spring-motor it will beseen that the construction is such that the spring contains a maximumamount of metal in a given space and that this amount of metal isdivided into helices and coils capable of storing maximum power.- Owingto the further fact that the diameter of such a spring is relativelysmall as compared with its length it will be seen also thatsubstantially all of the power of this spring is utilized in doing workand is not wasted, as is the case in ordinary clocksprings, which arenarrow and of large diameter, by the binding of the coils as a result oflateral torsion in the spiral.

What I claim is- 1. In a spring-motor, the combination of a plurality ofconcentric separate helices pivotally connected to form a continuousspring the ends of which are connected respectively to aresistance-point and a driven member.

2. In a spring-motor, the combination of a plurality of concentricseparate helices the coils of which have squared end portions,

rolls having squared openings for receiving said squared end portions,and links having bearings for said rolls and connecting pairs ofadjacent rolls to form a continuous spring the ends of which areconnected respectively to a resistance-point and a driven member.

3. In a spring-motor, the combination of a plurality ofconcentricseparate helices the coils of which are square incross-section and have squared end portions substantially parallel withthe axis of the helices, rolls having squared openings for receivingsaid squared end portions, and links having bearings for said rolls andconnecting pairs of adjacent links having bearings for said rolls andconnecting pairs of adjacent rolls to form a continuous spring the endsof which are connected respectively to a resistance-point and a drivenmember.

5. A spring-motorcomprisingapluralityof concentric helices, said helicesbeing detach-' ably secured to each other to form a continuous spring,the ends of said spring being connected respectively to'aresistance-point and a driven member.

6. In a spring-motor the combination of a plurality of concentrichelices pivotally connected to form a continuous spring, adjacenthelices being coiled in opposite directions, and the ends of saidspringbeing connected respectively to a resistance-point and a drivenmember.

7. In a spring-motor the combination of a plurality of concentrichelices, said helices being pivotally connected at opposite ends toadjacent helices to form a continuous spring, the outer and inner endsof said spring being connected respectively to a resistance-point and a"driven member.

8. In a spring-motor the combination of a plurality of concentrichelices pivotally connected to form a continuous spring, a resistancemember and a driven member, and sliding connections between said membersand the ends of said spring. I Signed at New York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, this 3d day of October, A. D. 1902.

, HENRY P. FISKE.

Witnesses:

s- C M ON. MORRIS S. HART.

